


Flame Trees

by Elemtee



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Character Death, Death scene is rather blood-y, M/M, Non Graphic Sex Scenes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-06
Updated: 2018-11-11
Packaged: 2019-08-19 17:25:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16538990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elemtee/pseuds/Elemtee
Summary: Remus was a detective, working on taking down a major crime gang.  When the operation goes wrong and his wife ends up dead at the hands of the same gang, Remus packs up his son and flees the city.Remus plans to settle down, live a quiet life and raise his son (oh god, how will he ever manage this alone?).  He didn’t plan for the residents Godric’s Hollow to turn his life on its head all over again





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me earlier today, and demanded my full attention. Other WIP's haven't been abandoned, but are both victims of a major case of brain blockage. 
> 
> A HUGE thank you to YouBlitheringIdiot and Nobothersgiventoday for reading the first chapter and encouraging me to post it - Love you both xx
> 
> The title comes from a song called Flame Trees, which is one of my all time favourites. There are several lines of lyrics that jumped out at me to fit in with this story:
> 
> We share some history, this town and I  
> And I can't stop that long forgotten feeling of her
> 
> There's no change, there's no pace Everything within its place  
> Just makes it harder to believe that she won't be around

Remus remembers everything about the night before his wife died.  It was July, and they had been out for dinner to celebrate their wedding anniversary, having left Teddy with Dora’s parents for the night.  He had surprised her with dinner at Fortescue’s - the same restaurant he had proposed in 3 years earlier - and then surprised her again with a pair of diamond earrings she had been hinting towards.  Dora had dropped her own surprise on him - somehow, despite years of fertility issues and IVF to get Teddy she was pregnant naturally. Her revelation had left him completely speechless for several minutes, before he leapt out of his chair and kissed her hard, unashamed of the (incredibly happy)  tears the were running down his face. They ate and drank and laughed, and in the taxi on the way home had made out in the backseat like a pair of teenagers, wandering hands somehow remaining just on the right side of inappropriate. 

 

They had made love twice that night, the first time both fully clothed still, Dora pushed up against the wall, her legs wrapped tight around his waist as he thrust into her at a rapid pace, his knees going weak as he finished inside her.  They had laid side by side on the floor for a little while after they finished, holding hands, discussing baby names, tossing around ideas for a short vacation they could take before the baby arrived, gently kissing each other at intervals.  

 

Their second time was much gentler, much softer.  Laying together in bed, clothes having been long discarded, cuddling, taking their time to enjoy each other before Dora straddled his body and kissed him gently as she lowered herself onto him, their movements so shallow that it took more than half an hour before either of them were finished.  Eventually they fell asleep, the length of Dora’s back spooned up against Remus’s front, his hands clutched protectively over her stomach, over their newest, tiniest child. 

 

His memories of the next morning are much hazier.  He remembers waking up much later than usual, marvelling at how nice it felt to wake up to his own body clock for once instead of to the demands of his 2 year old son.  He remembers the bed being empty, but the warmth still radiating from Dora’s spot indicating she had only just gotten up. He heard the sound of her retching in the bathroom, and getting up, following the sounds, gently rubbing her back when he found her crouched in front of the toilet looking a little green around the edges.  He remembers her complaining about having morning sickness - it had been her first clue something was up 2 days earlier she had told him - and then helping her back to bed, tucking the blankets around her and dropping several feather light kisses on her forehead as she dozed off again before getting dressed and, after realising they were out of the ginger tea he was hoping would settle her stomach, walking down to the coffee shop several blocks away to buy her one.  Wanting to give Dora some time to rest before bringing her her tea, Remus decided he’d take a table and drink his coffee while reading the newspaper. He remembers ordering Dora’s tea, and another coffee for himself and walking home. He remembers walking up his front path and his front door being open, and remembers thinking that was very, very odd. 

 

He doesn’t remember walking inside and noticing that their front room had been completely trashed, with graffiti scrawled across the walls.  He doesn’t remember dropping the hot beverages he had been holding, the thankfully now partially cooled liquid splashing up his legs. He doesn’t remember running through the house, screaming Dora’s name, pushing the bedroom door open so hard that it bounced off the stopper and almost smacked him in the face when it swung back unexpectedly.  He doesn’t remember seeing his wife in the bed, covered in blood, rushing to her, using his hands and the blankets on the bed to try and stop the bleeding. He doesn’t remember screaming at his phone - ‘Siri, call 000 on speaker NOW’ as his training kicks in and he frantically tries to simultaneously keep his wife alive and get her help. 

 

He doesn’t remember the paramedics arrive.  Or the police. He doesn’t remember the crime scene being set up, his wife being taken away on the gurney, her lifeless body zipped into the body bag.  He doesn’t recall Peter, his partner arriving and gently leading him away from the bedroom, helping him wash his hands in the kitchen sink. Minerva, his boss arriving, taking control.  He doesn’t remember Peter driving him to Andy and Ted’s house, and telling them that their only daughter was dead, and that it looked to be a murder. He doesn’t remember picking up Teddy and squeezing him so hard as he sobbed that Teddy started crying too.  

 

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the police psychiatrist he eventually sees will tell him, will sometimes block out reminders of the traumatic event as a coping mechanism.  One day, when the memories start coming back in the middle of the night, he will wish that he could go back to remembering nothing. 


	2. Chapter 2

The days and weeks following Dora’s funeral were hard for Remus.  He spent a lot of time in bed, staring at the ceiling, forcing himself up every so often to tend to Teddy’s needs, before scurrying back to his room to hide when the emotions threatened to overwhelm him.  Teddy, as would be expected from most 2 year old, spent his days playing, his routine largely unchanged, however every so often he would drop whatever toy he had been playing with and flop to the floor crying for his Mumma.  Andromeda and Ted, tried (oh how they tried) to keep themselves together, hold their grief inwards to help their son in law and grandson get through their trauma, often falling apart well after dark, sobbing in bed, arms wrapped around each other, each trying to bare the others pain.

 

The Tonks house, where Remus and Teddy had taken up residence for the time being, had a constant stream of visitors.  Peter was a regular fixture, coming by everyday, coaxing Remus out of bed, playing with Teddy, bringing bags of food, making sure everyone ate.  Ted and Andy’s friends and neighbours called in after work or on weekends, Remus’s mates from the station stopped in on days off or between shifts.  Minerva was working a lot of overtime on the case, but made a point of calling him several times a day to check up on him (I appreciate your concern, Min, I really do, but you don’t need to mother me he’d told her during one of her calls a week or so after the funeral.  Minerva had scoffed, reminded him who was the boss, added an extra call to her daily schedule and her wife Poppy had started turning up most days to help take care of Teddy).

************************

17 days after Dora’s funeral, Minerva found herself standing on the doorstep of the Tonks house, fist poised to knock, desperately trying to regather her work persona.  For the first time in her 35 years with the police she was seriously considering just handing in her badge and walking away. It seemed like an infinitely better option than facing Remus and his in laws and giving them the news.  Taking a deep breath to brace herself, she knocked twice, sharply and briskly, and stood back to wait. 

 

Remus opened the door looking every bit disheveled as he felt, and immediately knew that Minerva wasn’t here for a social visit. 

 

“Fuck” he swore, his brain unable to process a proper greeting

 

“Fuck indeed: Minerva replied “I’m sure you’ve figured out I’m not here for a social call, so I’m just going to come out with it, protocol be damned.  We’ve made arrests”

 

Remus stumbled backwards, blindly feeling for something, anything to support his weight.  “Who?” he finally managed to choke out

 

“I’ll tell you everything, but first, I’m going to come inside, and we are going to get you into a seat.  And I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve also called Poppy, and she should be here to watch young Teddy any minute” Minerva said in her usual no nonsense manner, letting herself into the house and taking Remus by the elbow, leading him in to the sitting room.  “Are Ted and Andromeda home at all?”

 

“No, they are both at work today, it’s the first day back for both of them”

 

“Not to worry, I’ll send someone to collect them once we get back to the station”

 

“We?” Remus asked, his curiosity piquing

 

“Yes we.  As we suspected, it was the Riddle gang.  We’ve had a confession, and have Riddle, along with the 3 Lestranges, Malfoy and Snape in custody as of last night.”

 

The Riddle gang.  Remus had been working undercover to take them down for over a year.  He felt the bile burning in his throat, and ran from the room, falling to his knees and vomiting profusely the second her reached the downstairs loo.  Logically he knew it wasn’t his fault, but he knew in the days and weeks to come the guilt would hang over his head like a tonne of bricks. Dora had asked him multiple times to request a transfer off the case, worried about what they would do to him if they discovered his true identity, and everytime he told her that there was nothing to worry about and that everything would be fine.  What the fuck had he done?

 

“Remus, are you ok in there” came Minerva’s voice through the closed door.  

 

Splashing water on his face, Remus stood and opened the door “I’m fine Min” 

 

“Ok. Well, Poppy is here, so it’s probably for the best if we head to the station and get this over with”

 

“Get what over with exactly?”

 

“Remus, there is no easy way to tell you this.  But it’s Peter. He is the one who sold you out to Riddle.  He’s in custody”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I might post snippets etc over on Tumblr, so feel free to head over there and follow me if you like - elemtee


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